They Came To Play - Documentary

For a recent birthday, I received a documentary on the 2007 Van Cliburn Amateur Piano Competition, They Came To Play. I watched it alone because other similar documentaries on pianos or musicians that I have watched and mostly enjoyed like "Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037" would be pretty boring to my non-pianist family. However, this documentary was better. I wouldn't suggest my family watch this documentary, but I might see if my adult piano students would be interested. As a lifelong piano student, I found the documentary inspiring and satisfying.
The piano competition brings together 70+ of the world's best amateur pianists for one week of competition. The competition is open to non-professional pianists age 35 and over who do not derive their principal source of income through piano performance, instruction, or composition.  The competition selects entrants through video screening. "All applicants submit a 15-20 minute audition video with repertoire of the applicant’s choosing. Works performed in the screening videos can be performed during the Competition rounds. The video must be filmed with both the pianist’s face and hands in the frame at all times. Recordings may be paused between each repertoire selection. Each work on the video must be a continuous and unedited performance. Videos must not be filmed more than six months prior to submission."
The documentary follows a number of contestants, featuring their motivations and path to the competition and then cuts to video from the competition itself. It was interesting to see people of all ages from so many walks of life attempting the competition, but this section was a little long at times. However, as the competition went on, the more serious and gifted piano students (who just happened to chose a non-musical profession) seemed to dominate the competition. (I also noticed that most of the more serious contestants had access to a grand piano in their home for practicing.) However, I still found it inspiring to see opthamologists, civil attorneys, french tennis players, and dental assistants all play their hearts out on stage. It was easy to see that these splendid performances came from people who simply just love playing the piano. It is a wonderful example of ordinary people doing the extraordinary.
The bonus material on the DVD included semi-final and final round performances that are well worth watching.